By
eHow Electronics Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You’ll Need:
- HD television with 1080p capacity
- HD DVD or Blu-Ray DVD
- HD or Blu-Ray DVD player
Step1
Use a large HD television capable of 1080p resolution, preferably one 50 inches or bigger. The differences between 720p and 1080p are extremely subtle, and some people swear that the variations cannot be discerned by the naked eye. If you are using a smaller television (less than 42 inches), even the closest scrutiny may not produce any noticeable difference.
Step2
Turn on the HD DVD or Blu-Ray DVD player and insert a disc. Your television or cable box should allow you to move back and forth between its resolution (1080p) and the resolution of an HD broadcast (720p).
Step3
Sit closer to the TV than is comfortable. While you should not spend extended amounts of time too close to the TV, a brief sitting can help you differentiate the details between 720p and 1080p more succinctly.
Step4
Focus on the finer details. Rather than looking at large crowd scenes, unfocused shots or scenes with a darkened frame, examine close-ups and elements such as hair, clothing fabric or rippling wheat fields. The contrast in resolution between 720p and 1080p becomes easier to spot that way.
Step5
Examine diagonal lines in the image, such as people's arms and shoulders leading up to their heads, the slant of light in a darkened room onscreen or angles on buildings past which the camera may be panning. With 720p, you may notice a slight triangulation along the lines (called the "stair-stepping effect,"), while with 1080p you will not.
Step6
Look for the density of the pixels rather than the sharpness of the image. While both 720p and 1080p have very sharp resolutions, 1080p tends to pack more pixels into its image. Experts call it the "screen door effect" because when standing close enough to 720p, you can actually notice the space between pixels, while in 1080p, you cannot.